On the Steps of the Palace
by Bibliophile4ever
Summary: Everyone thinks they know Cinderella, but here is a story written from the point of view of someone who really does, her best friend
1. Lemons

"Evelyn!"

"Yes, Mother?" I sighed as I made my way to where my mother was cooking some sort of chicken.

"I need you to run out and get some lemon, rosemary," My mother stopped to think, "And why don't you get some basil as well."

"Of course Mother, how many lemons?" I asked.

She paused and I could se her calculating in her head, "They'll keep for a while, so how about three or maybe four."

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," I said as I put on my apron and my mother handed me some money.

"Be safe," She told me as I headed out the door into the marketplace. I walked over to the booth selling herbs and was just about to ask for a handful of rosemary sprigs when,

"Evvie!" My best friend, Cynthia shouted.

"Cindy, what do Miss Priss and Joy-less have you doing today?" I asked using the nicknames we coined for her two stepsisters, Priscilla and Joy.

"Nothing too much," she shrugged with a small smile, "I just had to pick up their gloves from your father's shop."

"Were you just there?" I queried.

"Yes and I heard your mother send you out, so I got the gloves then ran to meet you here," she stated.

"One second," I said to her and bought the rosemary and basil for my mother. "So," I said, turning back to her, you must have something to tell me, you've got that pensive look in your eye."

"Do you notice," she said as we walked to the stall that sold vegetables and fruits, "that recently all the handsome young men have been particularly nice to us lately?

I muttered, "And some not so handsome ones."

"What was that?" asked Cindy.

"I said, 'yes I do notice it'," I replied and shrugged sadly, "And that just gives my parents reason to try and get me married quite soon."

"It's not that bad, Evvie, you're sixteen," she said, being optimistic as usual.

"Yes, but you're seventeen, and no one's breathing down your neck telling you to get married," I tell her, then turn to ask for four lemons from the vendor.

"That's because my household doesn't care whether I get married or not , and don't look now but there's a handsome young man staring right at you," she said with a smirk.

My eyes widened as my head turned, "Where?"

She clucked her tongue. "He turned around the second you did, "she slapped my shoulder, "I told you not to look!"

I rolled my eyes, laughed, and slammed into someone. My lemons were scattered all over. I bent and tried to pick them up. "Sorry, I'm sorry," I said biting my lip.

"No, I'm sorry," the someone said as he knelt down to help me.

I looked up to see that he was handing me the two lemons that had escaped me. When our hands touched briefly, I blushed and caught a glimpse of his slightly unruly brown hair as he disappeared among the throng of people.


	2. The invitation

A/N: Hey, thanks to all my reviewers! (piratesswriter, weirdo-onzstreet-ya, livdarcy, and last but certainly not least, floraandfauna, my best friend!) I'm glad you like it. I will warn you though, i'm not a quick updater. This is probably the quickest update you'll ever get. Sorry in advance. Kt knows how slow I write/ type! hehe. Any way.. on to chapter two

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Cindy was looking into the crowd following my eyes which had just watched him disappear and turned to me smiling, scheming as usual, "Oh My, Evvie, he was blushing almost as much as you are!" I put my hands to my cheeks as Cindy laughed. I grabbed the lemons and stood up. 

"I've got to be getting home, "I told her as I started in that direction, "You could come too as long as the stepsisters wouldn't be mad at you for 'tallying'."

She rolled her eyes. "Who cares? I'm coming to your house," she said decisively.

"Why are you so bold when you talk about them, but when your actually around Pricilla and Joy, you are so meek?" I questioned.

"I don't know," she sadly replied, "Father told me to respect them and treat them well."

"But they don't respect you at all, nor do they treat you well!" I defended my friend. Honestly, sometimes it's maddening how much loyalty Cindy has to her dead father. I know he meant well in leaving her with Cecelia Shanard (her stepsister) and her two daughters, but he knew nothing of their true personalities.

"I know, but you know that I don't like to talk about this," she responded with pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You're right, I do know," I said as I opened the door to my house.

My mother saw Cindy and smiled. "Cynthia! How nice to see you, can you stay for dinner?"

Almost on cue, my younger sister, Sara, ran up to her, hugged her around the knees and said, in her oh-too-sweet six year old way, "Please say you can stay!"

Cindy laughed. "Alright, I'll stay for dinner, but I have to leave right after that." Sara shrieked with joy and dragged Cindy from the room.

I went into the kitchen to help Mother finish dinner and when we had finished, my family, plus Cindy, sat down to eat. Suddenly, there was an inpatient knock on the door.

I stood up. "I'll answer it." I walked up to the door and opened it.

"By decree of His Royal Majesty, King Maximilian, all eligible madens of fifteen Years of age or older are required to attend three balls in succession this Thursday, Friday and Saturday in honor of Prince Christopher's twentieth birthday. All three balls will begin at sunset," announced a royal messenger with a slightly bored look on his face. He bowed and then walked away.

"Thanks?" I said as I slowly closed the door and walked back to the table. My parents were grinning (both for different reasons, mind you: Father for the business this would bring to the shop in the next five days and Mother because it is something she would have loved to do at our age) and Cindy was gazing dreamily out the window in the direction of the palace

My mother clapped her hands. "Oh girls, this is wonderful! You will have such a time!"

"I can't go," said Cindy, in a flat monotone.

"Why not?" I turned to her, concerned.

"They won't let me go," she replied, the sadness becoming evident in her voice and eyes. We all knew who "they" were.

"How do you know?" I asked her, "Besides you're required 'by decree of His Royal Majesty'." I tried to imitate the messenger in a futile attempt to cheer her up.

"They will find a way to make me stay home," she replied dejected


	3. The twins

My mother had been watching the whole conversation, "Now, no more of that, girls, you will both be going to the ball."

"But-" Cindy and I started, for two different reasons and were cut off buy my mother.

"No buts! Evelyn, you and Cindy will have a wonderful time!" Mother said decisively, dinner forgotten in the excitement by everyone, except for my fourteen-year-old brother Gus, who continued shoveling food into his mouth.

"Oh, I wish I was just one month older," his twin Rosemarie said wistfully, clasping her hands in a gesture of absolute longing.

"Why would it matter?" asked Gus, with a slightly mischievous grin on his face, "the prince wouldn't dance with _you_ anyway."

"Shut up, Augustus!" she shouted with a deathly glare.

"Ooo! I'm telling Mom you said that!"

"Oh yeah?" countered Rosemarie, "then I'm telling her what you did behind the barn wi-"

"Telling me what?" Mother, who had been listening to the whole thing, asked.

"Nothing," the twins mumbled, looking at each other, knowing that neither of them had actually intended to tell Mother.

During this spat, Cindy was looking out the window and seemed to be daydreaming and, as mother was asking the twins just what it was they weren't telling her, she got up as if to leave.

"Where are you going?" I questioned, rising as well.

She looked at me and said, with a small smile that I knew meant that she was anything but happy, "I have to get home, they'll be expecting me by now and I have some work to I need to finish, probably more because of the ball"

I nodded, trying to convey that I understood, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes," Cindy replied with a much more genuine smile and turned to my mother, "Bye Mrs. Martanelle, Thank you so much for dinner."

"But you hardly ate any of it! Here take this," My mother said as she wrapped half of a chicken breast and two rolls in a napkin for Cindy to eat at home and handed her the parcel.

"Thanks again" She said as she took the chicken, "Good bye everyone."

"Good bye," Sara and Rosie replied in unison as Gus mumbled something unintelligible around another mouthful of food.

"Bye Cindy, see you tomorrow?" I asked as I hugged her on her way to the door.

She nodded, opened the door, then paused, "Wait, tomorrow's Tuesday, right?" I nodded. "then I don't think I'll be able to get out of the house. Do you think that you could come over for a bit?"

"I don't know, the shop will probably be really busy tomorrow, with new dress orders and alterations because of the balls and I'll need to help out, but I can try."

"Ok, so I'll see you on Wednesday?" she asked, knowing that once I started on a dress, I would forget what time it was and not stop until I was either done or was called for dinner.

"Yeah," I replied, laughing, as she walked out. I closed the door and walked back to the table.


End file.
